Love is Blind
by candyharlot
Summary: Why can’t Orihime touch him in the way she does? Why can’t she make him happy, too? [PostSS Arc. Oneshot. IshiHime, onesided IchiHime.]


_Summary: Post-SS Arc. One-shot. IshiHime, very slight ChizuruHime. Why can't Orihime touch him in the way she does? Why can't she make him happy, too?_

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to no one but Kubo Tite, the manga-ka of Bleach.**

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_**Love is Blind**_

He really was a distracting boy. Especially whenever he sat in front of the window on a sunny day like today. Not only did it bring out the golden hairs scattered throughout his rich, perpetually mussed auburn hair, but it gave his sun kissed skin an inhuman glow. To me the sight was amazing, but I attributed that fact to the feelings I harbored for him.

If I wasn't irretrievably in love with Ichigo Kurosaki, I'd probably think his hair was pretty weird, but I would've gone on with my life without ever thinking about it again. I would probably be afraid of him like my friends were, always watching him from the other side of the room with wariness he always expertly ignored. He wouldn't have to speak to me any more than he already did, but at least it would be easier to bear whenever he forced himself to. If I didn't know him, things would be undoubtedly easier.

I wouldn't notice the small things about him if I didn't love him. I wouldn't worry constantly whenever he missed school for a few days, or whenever he acted happy despite the dark circles under his expressive hazelnut eyes. His intense gaze wouldn't affect me so much, and I could go on living life without ever wondering whether he would ever feel the same way about little old me.

_He'll never love you, Orihime, _the small, treacherous voice in the back of my head chided me time and time again. But I would never listen to that wretched voice, because I believed that love was forever. My stronger voice would always reason that he would see how I felt for him sooner or later, turn on his heels, and come to me truly smiling. Of course, the truly smiling bit was just a fantasy, because I only saw him smile whenever Kuchiki-san was in his presence. But even his own special sun had gone back to her home, which made things harder for the people surrounding him. Suddenly I wished for the shinigami to return, just so he could be happy.

_Do you really want him to be happy? _The dark voice in the back of my mind fought with my will suggestively. _When he's happy he forgets about you. Don't _you _want to be the one to comfort him? _I closed my eyes and shook my head against the thought entering unbidden into my mind. I would _always_ be willing to throw away my own happiness for his sake. Always. No matter how much he hurt me, I would love him.

_Oh yeah...notes. _I should've been taking notes. I knew there was something I'd been avoiding! In the very back of my mind there had been something... But my thoughts were too saturated with other things—more important things—to even absorb what Sensei was talking about. I just stared at the woman unseeingly, watching her mouth move soundlessly as I fought the urge to glance in his direction once more. He was so beautiful it made my throat ache if I stared long enough. Unfortunately, Ichigo was the type who noticed pretty much everything. What's the word for it...? Oh yeah! Perceptive. Unless he was totally lost in his thoughts, it wouldn't take him long to notice my probing gaze. Normally he'd catch it within ten seconds...then I would smile brightly and he would grin faintly, the kindness never really reaching his eyes. _Why can't I touch him in the way she does?_

I sighed dejectedly, sinking down in my uncomfortable desk chair as I chewed on the eraser of my pencil. I was vaguely aware of someone's eyes on the back of my head, but I ignored it. It usually turned out to be either Asano or Mizuiro. But...then again...it could be Chizuru. The thought made me shudder. Without Tatsuki at school to ask her to lay off, the thought occurred to me that I would have to deal with her myself. I wondered if she would even listen to me. I wasn't very scary like Tatsuki was...and I couldn't punch her! That would be too cold... I bit my lip anxiously, watching the clock for the bell to ring. Within moments the loud, clanging noise filled my ears and I-as quickly as I could-packed everything up into my backpack. But I wasn't fast enough.

"Hime-chan! How _are _you?" Chizuru's excited tenor of her voice made me instantaneously want to flee. I felt like a small, blind mouse being chased by a murderous—or in my case, overly affectionate—cat. Casting a look in Ichigo's direction, I came up short only to find his seat already vacant. My eyes traveled to the door only to see him hovering there with Asano, who was complaining loudly about something. He vanished into the sea of students as soon as he stepped out the door. With a resolve I turned to Chizuru, evading my gaze from her wandering cherry red eyes, staring above her zany, lopsided glasses.

"I'm alright, just hungry," I said lightly, rubbing my stomach. "I forgot to eat breakfast this morning! You know, with exams next week I'm really nervous and I don't really get hungry in the mornings and that Calculus test almost killed me first period I almost died! Not to mention all of the stress building up because of my home economics exam next week where I have to make—"

"You can eat lunch with me today," Chizuru piped up, holding up her food sack and waving it in my face as if it were a very tempting thing. She took a step closer to me and without a second thought I headed straight for the door. She followed very close behind. "Since Tatsuki isn't here you must be so lonely!"

"A little," I replied uneasily as she rubbed her shoulder against mine forcefully. I fought with the urge to shove her away since I didn't want to be rude. Then I imagined what Tatsuki would say. "To hell with being rude! You're protecting your _reputation_! You don't want to be known as a lesbian too, do ya Orihime?" I grimaced upon imagining what else my best friend would do to Chizuru.

"Well I'll always be here to keep you company, Hime-chan," Chizuru purred softly, running her hand through my hair as I continued to walk faster...away from her grasp. "To tell you the truth it's a lot quieter without Tatsuki here...maybe we could eat next to the trees today. The other girls are helping out with the school play, so it'll just be you and me!"

"Actually...I think it's pretty boring without Tatsuki-san here!" I smiled cheerfully, trying to hide my discomfort. "And it rained yesterday, I don't want to ruin my shoes by getting in the mud, they're brand new and I saved up for them..." Maybe if I acted neutral she'd just go away. "And I really wanted to eat inside today! My cake might lose its taste if it gets out there in the humidity—"

"You can take off your shoes and we can play in the mud! It'll be fun!" Chizuru's eyes lit up at the idea, looking very menacing indeed. I gulped, suddenly lost as far as excuses went. I hated where this conversation was going, and I didn't know how to stop the train from wrecking.

"But-"

"Inoue, I need your help with moving the desks before next period. Excuse us, Chizuru-san." The deep, reserved voice caught me off guard, and before I knew what was going on I found myself being led away from the awe-struck lesbian. I sighed in relief and put my hand over my heart as we finally reached the top of the stairs at the end of the hallway. I looked up at my rescuer, who was a good four inches past the top of my head. His hand was still around my wrist, forceful but gentle at the same time.

"Thank you, Ishida-kun," I laughed breathlessly, so it came out more as a high-pitched giggle. My face was flushed as we made our way through the hallway to our next class. I looked up at his profile to find the corner of his mouth curled upward in what I suspected was a smirk.

"It's no trouble. You looked slightly uncomfortable," he observed, habitually pushing his rectangular glasses upward onto the bridge of his aristocratic nose. I blinked before letting myself smile and laugh.

"I guess I was...I didn't want to be mean to her...but sometimes she makes me feel funny," I said, frowning. "I feel so pathetic. I couldn't even stand up for myself without Tatsuki-chan here! She'd be ashamed of me. So would Kurosaki-kun now that I think about it!" Now that she thought about it...Ichigo had been less than ten yards away at his locker and he hadn't even spared a glance.

"Well I suppose it's normal to feel...strange towards someone who holds such high..." he paused, clearing his throat primly. "Such high esteem for you. Especially when they are of the same gender."

"I couldn't punch her like Tatsuki-chan does...and I didn't want to be mean to her...but like Tatsuki-chan says I have a reputation to think of! I don't want her to think that I like her because I really don't," I said quickly, my words coming out in a jumble as we made our way down the stairs side-by-side. "It would be like Kurosaki-kun being really, _really _friendly towards you, Ishida-kun! I bet you wouldn't like that very much...or even Sado-kun! Not only would you feel weird but I bet you'd probably feel a bit awkward, right? I mean, it's just so strange to think about!"

"Er...yes," Ishida mumbled. He quickly shook his head, as if to rid himself of an especially rotten thought. "That does not sound very pleasant at all."

"Nope," I answered earnestly. When we finally hit the landing I jumped down, putting my hands behind my back as I stretched. Being in desks all day had done nothing for my back. Ishida stood there while I put my head back and closed my eyes.

"Inoue-san...may I ask what you're doing?" he asked a bit hesitantly as I began to twirl in place. The fall breeze felt so refreshing on my skin, it was hard not to enjoy the moment. This was something I did almost every day, but then I remembered. Ishida-kun didn't see me every day. Or at least it didn't feel like it. Sometimes when he didn't speak I almost forgot he was there. Or at least that's what I used to do before we became closer.

Going to the Soul Society together meant that we had spent a lot of time in each other's company, especially when we were separated from Sado and Kurosaki. At first I was sad that I wasn't with the one person I had wanted to be with during the journey to save Rukia. He had been part of the reason I decided to come, I had wanted to see him fight...see him win again and again. Instead, I was matched with someone who I knew nothing about. We worked as a team as we stole shinigami uniforms and fought against foes with strong reiatsu, and even though it wasn't obvious I very much admired him for his strength. Watching him lose his powers after fighting that crazy scientist from the Twelfth Division was a hard thing for me to see...all of the lost power dull to my senses after we met up again. How I wished I could've heal him from the damage he'd done just to save the both of us. But I couldn't give him his Quincy powers back, nor could I repair his tarnished ego.

Now that we were back from that journey, Ishida had been distant. He'd missed days from school, and I could see that he was wearing himself out. Doing what exactly, I had no clue. He no longer ate lunch with Ichigo and Sado, and usually disappeared right after school was out. More than once I'd tried to invite him to go somewhere only to be turned down. Something told me that whatever he was doing was bad for his health. And yet I knew that his pride would be dampened if I asked him about seeing a doctor.

So having him rescue me from Chizuru's advances was definitely a surprise. Reluctantly I opened my eyes from my shallow trance and looked into his confused cobalt blue ones. They shimmered in the sunlight behind the glare of his white-rimmed glasses.

"It's such a beautiful day! I love the rain, but this kind of weather is wonderful too. Don't you think so, Ishida-kun?" I asked brightly as we began walking down the sidewalk towards some benches. Several students passed us, including Ichigo. I sucked in a breath as he glanced at Ishida, and then continued onward as if he hadn't seen anything at all. I looked down, forgetting the boy next to me for a split second as I watched the other walk away. I shook my head against the confusion manifesting there.

"I'm not sure." Ishida took a seat next to me as I began taking out my food: an apple, a peanut butter and banana sandwich, and a piece of the cake I baked two days ago. It was crumbled, much to my dismay. "I'm quite fond of the rain."

"I bet you read a lot of books whenever it rains." I took a bite out of my sandwich. "You read a lot in class, too. Sometimes I see you reading even on a day like this!"

"Yes," he said, sounding bemused. I blinked at him as he pulled one of the said books out of his backpack. "My father's library keeps me interested most of the time."

I remained silent as I thought about his last words. When I looked at his expression he seemed to wince. I didn't realize Ishida lived with his father...I had never really thought about it until now. I mentally punched myself in the face.

"Stupid Orihime!" I chided myself, smacking my hand to my forehead. He looked at me questioningly, one ebony eyebrow quirked upward. "I didn't realize you lived with your father. I knew your grandfather died a long time ago but I guess I never thought about it before..." I trailed off. He remained silent for a moment, as if contemplating something. Then he spoke.

"It's alright," he assured me, grinning briefly as he looked into my eyes for the first time since our journey to Soul Society. He looked so tired...he was even paler than normal, which was saying a lot. There was so much there, so much hidden. He looked away quickly. "I just recently started living with him again due to...certain circumstances. My father isn't home a lot. I don't blame you for not knowing, I never talk about him so it would be rather strange if you did."

"You're right! It would be sort of strange...like a stalker or something!" I chuckled lightly, suddenly feeling very nervous. "I bet your father is a Quincy too, and you're as talented as he is, Ishida-kun! You said you were the last but I knew that couldn't be true--"

"My father is not a Quincy." The words were a bit harsh, taking me slightly by surprise as the breath died in my throat. I stared up at him and realized that I had said something wrong. _Stupid Orihime, now he's going to be angry at you! Good goin'! You don't even deserve your own cake. _I looked down at the crumbled food and bit my lip. I watched as his usually stoic appearance wavered, revealing a raw expression of pain. Obviously his father wasn't someone he got along with well. _And here I've made him feel worse about it! _But as soon as I saw this rare sight it was gone as he took a deep breath. He turned to me with a slightly calmer expression even though I could tell he wasn't telling me something. "He's actually a doctor. He helps the living...he wants me to do the same, but I'm not so sure that would be the best thing."

"You're wonderful at fighting hollows, but I bet you'd be a great doctor too! You've saved the lives of the people the hollows are after, right? And you've saved me countless times..." I trailed off thoughtfully as the milky white skin of his smooth face began to grow pink for some reason. He met my eyes with an intensity that made all my current thoughts vanish into the abyss. My heart made an odd movement in my chest and my hands grew unsteady as I gripped my skirt. Had Kurosaki-kun ever looked at me this way?

_No, _the mysterious voice answered, louder than ever, overpowering my will.

"Thank you, Inoue." His tone was husky, causing a shiver to ricochet down my spine. "But I think I'm going to stay where I am and get stronger."

I nodded, gulping as his eyes searched mine. Then I smiled, feeling my face reddening slightly as well. "Hai!"

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_Author's Nonsense: Sorry if Ishida and Hime seem slightly out of character. And just to clarify...Ishida sort of let it slip out that he lived with his father. This would probably be labeled as Alternate Universe, since the Vizards haven't come into play yet and Ishida __has__ already made the promise to stay away from Soul Reapers so he can gain his powers back. This was pretty much a first practice run for me in the world of_ Bleach._ Let me know if you enjoyed it!  
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